Trainee’s Use of Social Media: Implications for AUCD Training Programs
Purpose
Elizabeth A. Bishop, University of Tennessee, Mark Crenshaw, Georgia State University,
and Jody M. Pirtle, Northern Arizona University
Addressing the gap between educational technology
and social networking has been the subject of research
in adult and higher education contexts (Chen & Bryer,
2012; Davies, 2011; Gazi, Aksal, & Oztug, 2012 ;
Ghamrawi & Shal, 2012; and Velesianos, Kimmons, &
French, 2013). Specifically, the understanding of
educational technology (distance learning, asynchronous
learning, etc.) has now started to investigate and
recognize the role that social media has on students’
educational and learning processes. Likewise,
healthcare professionals are also recognizing the need
to address the influence of social media on students’
professional and ethical practices (George, 2011;
Myers, Endres, Ruddy & Zelikovsky, 2012; Salazar,
2010; and Spector, 2012). With this attention to the
impact of social media within the learning environments
and functions found in higher education, research is
struggling to catch up and form frameworks for
evaluation and new methods of analysis to determine
the efficacy of such social media tools in learning (Chen
& Bryer, 2012; Davies, 2011; Gu, Zhu & Ghu, 2012;
Makki & Makki, 2012; and Veletsianos & Navarrete,
2013). In addition to the attempts at qualifying and
assessing the effect of social media on learning in the
context of higher education, researchers are also
beginning to investigate the impact social media has on
large-scale societal learning and change outcomes (Al
Lily, 2013 and Ghamrawi & Shal, 2012).
Methods
• 8-question survey created to ascertain the types of
social networking tools used by emerging
professionals and how important these tools are to
the future professional goals and outcomes of current
and former trainees across the AUCD network.
• Survey distributed for four weeks using Survey
Monkey via two listserves.
• 291 former and current trainees responded to the
survey
Preliminary Results
Two open-ended questions were asked about the
experiences had using social media as part of a
learning experience and what was the most
beneficial aspect of that experience. Fifty percent
stated that they had never had a learning
experience via one of the social media platforms.
The other 50% stated that they had engaged in
learning experiences via webinars, social chats,
discussion boards, and blogs. Most were academic
activities associated with a class but others were in
the professional work of the respondent. For those
who did participate in a learning experience
benefits of doing so included easy of access to
information, people, and discussions; flexibility and
time management; collaborative networking across
time and distance; and freedom to choose what is
relevant.
Conclusions
While experience still remains limited among the
survey respondents it is clear that social media
continues to be used as part of our everyday life.
The benefits of incorporating social media into
professional training is a natural extension of how it
is being used academically and in distance learning.
Indications of the importance of social media is
evident as well as the frequency of use. It is also
clear that certain platforms are seen for specific
purposes and that has indication for training
programs and their future planning. If Facebook is
seen as primarily a personal activity for fun it will
not be the most efficient way to provide ongoing
professional training. However, one thing is certain
that social media is constantly evolving and ongoing
monitoring of the uses and capabilities is worth
acknowledging.